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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042143/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This paper discusses the threat disasters pose to development in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) by presenting an analysis of the macro-economic impact of extreme events to the education sectors in these countries and how education can function to build resilience and promote disaster risk reduction (DRR). Development in Caribbean SIDS has always been particularly precarious. The negative impacts of natural disasters further constrain their ability to overcome the many development challenges they already face. Between 1990 and 2008, the region experienced 165 disasters, with damages to the housing, health, and education sectors estimated at US$57 billion. While within the DRR community it is understood that disasters are not simply natural occurrences, but rather the result of the interaction of the natural environment with development processes, such a perspective has not yet become dominant within the Caribbean. Often economic, social, and political inequalities play a central role in differences in risk perception and risk tolerance, with the poor often accepting risks that the more privileged deem unacceptable. On one hand, education can be instrumental in reducing poverty and inequality, and thus increasing the capacity and resilience of the most vulnerable to manage shocks related to disaster. On the other hand, policymakers must acknowledge that risk perceptions are social constructs, and thus disaster risk reduction (DRR) must be integrated into education in order to advance a culture of safety. A broadly educated population, particularly one familiar with DRR principles, can play a significant role in ensuring that development choices are not amplifying and compounding risks. The document presents a number of suggestions related to DRR within the education sector that policymakers in Caribbean SIDS should prioritize. It calls for the construction of safer schools built utilizing building codes that incorporate disaster resilience, with established mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating their safety. Not only do safer schools ensure that children and teachers are protected from disaster, but also, schools can serve vital functions as emergency shelters, spaces for the coordination of response and recovery activities, and centers of community cohesion. The document also highlights Priority 3 of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015, which calls for establishing a culture of safety through the integration of DRR into national educational strategies, teacher training courses, and school curricula. ( English )
- Subject:
- Disaster Risk Reduction and Education ( English )
- Citation/Reference:
- (2009). Disaster risk reduction in the education sector among selected Caribbean small island developing states. United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
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